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The Gripe column has transformed into bigger and better ideas and is now The Payson Road Voice. Please visit the new column, The Voice. The Gripe Column 2005 Index - 2005 September 1: Relief September 1, 2005 Donate cash to:
American Red Cross Operation Blessing
America’s Second Harvest Donate Cash to and Volunteer with:
Adventist Community Services
Catholic Charities, USA
Christian Disaster Response Christian Reformed World Relief Committee
Church World Service
Convoy of Hope Corporation for National and Community Service Disaster Relief Fund Lutheran Disaster Response
Mennonite Disaster Service
Nazarene Disaster Response
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance
Salvation Army
Southern Baptist Convention -- Disaster Relief
United Methodist Committee on Relief For further information: visit the website for the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (NVOAD) at: http://www.nvoad.org/.
August 1, 2005 Here is the text from one of the Nike ads. Just do it Nike, yeah. BUTT-- My butt is big Legs-- My legs Thighs-- I have Just do it. July 21, 2005 The world of video games is dark and mysterious...and lucrative. I've spent sometime researching the business for our company and even attended the E3 annual gaming conference. It seems as though there's an amazing opportunity there for creativity, knowledge and education. Inevitably, the old saying rings true, sex and violence sell, and video games have plenty of both. Take-Two, the makers of last years most popular video game series, "Grand
Theft Auto", have created much controversy over their recent release, "Grand
Theft Auto: San Andreas" which has hidden explicit and interactive sex scenes on
the disc. It also has extreme violence toward women and celebrates nihilistic
killings. However, those ingredients, although raising eyebrows and
prompting some Senators to act (including Hillary Rodham Clinton) have not
impelled lawmakers to remove the games from shelves. Why is it that we are
less tolerant of sex than we are of violence? Here's the article, decide for yourself. Hidden Sex Scenes Spark Furor Over Video Game, from the Los Angeles Times posted on Yahoo! News July 11, 2005 Autism and anorexia are both highly
misunderstood. And now the two have been linked according to Professer
Gillberg and other scientsts of the National Centre for Autism Studies at
the University of Strathclyde. Professer Gillerberg claims that because
Autism is not as easily diagnosed in girls, it can go undetected until the
girl also develops anorexia. What the study fails to clarify is that
Autism is a broad spectrum and only difficult to diagnose in those with
Asperger Syndrome, or high-functioning autism. In addition, the diets of
many afflicted with Autism are greatly impacted by deficits in sensory
integration. Finding foods that a person with Autism likes the taste,
texture, sight, and smell of is often the contributing factor in limiting
foods, not an obsession with counting calories and fear of fat. Autism in women linked to anorexia AUTISM may be going undiagnosed in women because its effects are less obvious than in men, and the condition may even play a part in anorexia, a scientist said yesterday. Autism is commonly regarded as being much more common in boys than in girls, but this may reflect differences in the way the disorder affects the female brain, according to Chris Gillberg, of the National Centre for Autism Studies at the University of Strathclyde. Between three and four times as many boys as girls are generally diagnosed with autism, a condition that produces problems in communication and social interaction. Previous studies have suggested that autism is up to 14 times more common in males. Professor Gillberg, however, said that the gap between the sexes is closing with more research, which suggests that the extent of the condition in females may have been underestimated. Girls, he said, may be less likely to have autism diagnosed because they tend to be less outgoing than boys, making social difficulties and other autistic traits harder to detect. The condition may manifest itself in other disorders, such as anorexia. Professor Gillberg said: “Autism may be behind many cases of anorexia. A girl may be withdrawn and uncommunicative without attracting attention, but when she develops a calorie fixation, it becomes a serious problem. Counting calories may be a manifestation of autism. “Some women could be going undiagnosed. It could be that the current idea that three to four times more males have autism than females is an inflation of the reality.” Professor Gillberg, speaking at the launch of the British affiliate of the National Alliance for Autism Research (NAAR), a charity that operates in the United States, said that the condition probably does have a male bias, but that it is more likely to be two to three times more common in males than in females. Many other behavioural conditions, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, are also more common in boys, he said. Other leading autism researchers attending the NAAR gathering said that the rising incidence of the condition probably does not represent an epidemic; rather, it is more likely to reflect better diagnosis and awareness. Autism was once considered to be a rare condition that was diagnosed in as few as two people in 10,000, but its incidence is recognised to be as high as 60 in 10,000 — or about 535,000 people in Britain. Professor Gillberg and other scientists said that the best explanation for this is improved diagnosis and parental familiarity with the disorder. Tony Charman, of the Institute of Child Health at University College London, said: “There is no clear evidence that there has been an actual increase. A broadening of understanding of what autism is as a condition is likely to account for all the rise of prevalence.” Simon Baron-Cohen, of the Autism Research Centre at the University of Cambridge, said that parental awareness of autism is crucial. He said: “In every town you can now go to a child-development centre with trained specialists who can diagnose the condition. Ten or twenty years ago, there was just a small number of hospitals with that capacity.” from Times Online UK July 5, 2005 In debate over psychiatry, Dakota Fanning rips Brooke
Shields Eleven-year-old blasts ‘pseudo-science’ in New York Times op-ed The ongoing debate over psychiatry reached a fever pitch today as Tom Cruise's "War of the Worlds" co-star Dakota Fanning took to the New York Times op-ed page to blast the actress Brooke Shields. The eleven-year-old Ms. Fanning, who has earned rave reviews for her performance in the summer blockbuster, said she was "infuriated" after reading Ms. Shields' op-ed piece from last Friday in which she ripped Mr. Cruise for his views about psychiatry. "I was sitting in my trailer reading Shields' piece, where she was going on and on as if she were Sigmund Freud," Ms. Fanning told reporters. "I have to tell you, my blood was boiling." Within minutes of finishing Ms. Shields' article, Ms. Fanning sat down at her laptop and began composing an op-ed of her own, which she immediately fired off to the editors of the Times. In her article, which appeared in the newspaper this morning, the eleven-year-old moppet calls psychiatry "a pseudo-science," stating bluntly, "In all my years of experience, I have never seen psychiatry do more good than harm." Ms. Fanning reserved especially harsh words for the pharmaceuticals Ritalin and Aderall: "After years of studying the medical literature about both of these drugs, I have determined that they are both useless." In conclusion, she added, "When I find my attention flagging, I don't take drugs - I eat a bag of Skittles." Elsewhere, NASA scientists said that the contact between the Deep Impact space probe and the Comet Tempel 1 was the largest head-on collision not involving Billy Joel. Frankenstein Goes to Hollywood "Jackson Won't Share Bed with Kids Again". That was the headline I woke up to this morning. Well I should hope not Michael. As disturbing as Michael Jackson is, he's merely the icon of an enormous cultural problem. Celebrities have been catapulted to such a high level of deity that they are in fact, above the law. What's worse is that we've allowed, and even contributed to this. Kobe Bryant, Robert Blake, the infamous OJ Simpson and now Michael Jackson, all beat the system. I'm not saying all of them are guilty, well, I'm not declaring my opinion. Lets just say there was not much reasonable doubt in my mind. Is this simply a money and power thing? I don't think so. I think the public's obsession with "celebrity" has created a monster. And in turn, the celebrities themselves have gotten so caught up in their own hype that some see themselves as superhuman. It's become Mary Shelly's worst nightmare, Frankenstein Goes to Hollywood. Tom Cruise is someone I've always admired and respected. In recent years however, I've watched his celebrity title take over his entire persona. Kinda like ARMY OF DARKNESS when evil takes over the heroes body through his hand and he has to cut off his arm to be free. Maybe Cruise should cut off his head. Cruise appeared on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno last week and he seemed so affected. It was as if he was playing the role of, "Tom Cruise, Guest on Leno". The Scientology thing always bothered me but I've never been one to judge anyone's personal beliefs. But when you hear that his girlfriend of two months, Katie Holmes, is converting to Scientology to support her man, well that's just wrong. In fact, that whole relationship is creepy--FREE KATIE! I lost a lot of respect for Cruise when I read the comments he made about Brooke Shields (see Entertainment Weekly interview). Cruise suggested Shields was irresponsible for using and promoting the drug Paxil, an anti-depressant used to treat women with postpartum depression. In her new book, Down Came the Rain, Shields details her very severe struggle with postpartum depression after the birth of her daughter and talks frankly about her recovery through use of anti-depressants. Scientologists do not believe in the use of anti-depressants or laboratory created medications. Well, that's fine for you Tom. But, who are you to tell Brooke Shields how to treat her depression? Or any woman for that matter. Is Tom Cruise an expert on post partum depression? I'm tired of listening to celebrities opinions about social issues, politics, life, everything. Who cares what they think?!? Does being a famous actor qualify you as a expert on EVERYTHING? Whenever something goes down the first people interviewed are celebrities. After the Jackson verdict was read all the magazine shows were out in force gathering sound bites for their spot, "celebrity takes on the verdict". As if we should listen to their opinions to form our own. Heather Locklear thinks justice was served? Well, hell then! So do I! The press may be the ones sensationalizing "celebrity" but we're the ones buying it. Why do give them so much power? It is in this way that we contribute to the creation of the monster. The more we thrill over their lives, the more power "celebrity" has. Who are these people anyway? They're not curing cancer. Are we too blind too see that or have we simply lost all sense of reality? Why don't we celebrate teachers and fireman, and scientists who are curing cancer! All the unsung heroes who get passed over for notoriety and thanks. I know there are many celebrities, as there are many regular people, who do very good things. But folks, there's got to be better things to do with our time then stand outside Michael Jackson's gates. Our priorities have gotten so mixed up. Brad Pitt recently did an interview with Diane Sawyer focusing primarily on his advocacy efforts in Africa. I have to say, I was impressed by him. Not only because he is doing wonderful things for the children in Africa but because he seems to have retained his sense of humility--and that's got to be a tough thing to do when your entire life is on the cover of a magazine. Pitt commented about how there's a $500,000 "bounty on his head" for photographs and how askew that is. He's right. But who's fault is it really? Are the tabloids at fault, or are we to blame? If the public took the money they spent on entertainment magazines, put it in a jar and let it accumulate over one month, then sent it to Save the Children, we could wipe out poverty in Africa. And for the celebrities part, I know many of them donate funds to charities but here's another suggestion. You know those gift baskets nominees and presenters receive at the award shows? The Tony awards gift baskets were reportedly worth over $6000. The Oscar gift bags are estimated to be filled with tens of thousands of dollars worth of merchandise. During fashion week last year the gift baskets included a bed from Seally. Does Carmen Elektra really need a new bed? What if every celebrity who received a gift basket at an award show put the items up for sale on ebay then donated the proceeds to Save the Children? Or better yet, the manufacturers themselves could hold an auction instead of handing out gift baskets. The donations could be made in the name of the celebrities who would have received them. Someone's gotta step up to the plate. There's an incredible lack
of shame on all sides of this monster creation. The media ignites the flame. The public
spreads the fire and the celebrities either get burnt or become sun Gods.
How will it ever end? May 17, 2005 HOUSTON — A high school senior who was denied the honor of valedictorian because of absences due to anorexia accepted an honorary title Tuesday. Karen Scherr, 18, who maintained straight A's through high school, was ineligible to be valedictorian at Kingwood High School because she missed the first six weeks of school during her junior year. She was hospitalized because of the eating disorder at the time. But she caught up on her work and maintained her No. 1 ranking. School officials told Scherr and her family Monday that the honorary valedictorian title would be their best offer, district spokeswoman Karen Collier said. A student must be enrolled on the 20th day of his or her junior year to be eligible to become valedictorian, according to school policy. Changing the policy retroactively would be unfair to other students, the district said. The honorary title will allow Scherr to speak at the May 27 graduation. The district will also place her picture on the school's "Wall of Honor," with the official valedictorian, Alex Gorham. His GPA is 0.07 points lower. Several top students, including Gorham, have told the superintendent that Scherr is being unjustly punished for being ill and that she should be the valedictorian. Information from: Houston Chronicle, http://www.houstonchronicle.com ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- So what about that? Is this a case of discrimination? Or
has she simply been caught in an unfortunate loophole? April 25, 2005 A recent study was published by the sports
medicine division at the Oregon Health and Science University reporting that
an alarming number of young girls are taking anabolic steroids to achieve
weight loss.
But I don't blame them. I blame baseball. Oh yeah. This is Barry Bonds fault. What kind of example are
baseball players setting if parents and teachers feel it's cool to give kids
steroids, hell, if Mark Maguire can do it, so can my kid! Yes! This is amazingly cynical and as a sports
fan I hate saying it
let alone admitting it. But the truth is things have changed.
Sporting events are not the same as they were when I was a little kid at Fenway
Park waiting for Carl Yaz's autograph. The steroid thing, it's all part
of the same package. But it's more. It's part of our desire, as a
culture to achieve quick results with minimal effort, to ultimately make
more money. Now it's trickling down to our children who've already
learned to abuse their bodies is so many other ways. Do they really
need new options? Carl Yastrzemski literally carried the 67 Red Sox on his back to their first
pennant win in 21 years--no drugs, no Reebok contract, just will and
talent. Roger Maris broke Babe Ruth's single season homerun record with no
physical enhancements and no frills. They slept on buses with no air
conditioning or heat. They didn't have agents to protect them or great
endorsement deals like the athletes of today. If Mark Maguire did take
steroids, in any shape or form, he should be ashamed of himself. He should
be embarrassed to put his bat next to Roger Maris' in the Hall of Fame.
April 4, 2005 March 14, 2005 If you haven't seen it, you've most likely heard the buzz on Kirstie Alley's new Showtime series, Fat Actress. Apparently, the eating disorder community is up in arms! Really??? Whatever for??? Well, I'll tell you. In the premiere episode she, essentially makes fun of bulimics, by simulating the act of purging but is unable to follow through. She also makes comedic references to bulimia and anorexia. So our colleagues at the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA), are outraged. Although, I wholeheartedly agree with Lynn Grefe's, Chief Executive Officer of NEDA, points in her article, (http://biz.yahoo.com/iw/050308/082336.html), I'm puzzled as to why this show became the catalyst for outrage. Hollywood has been dissing eating disorders for years! I can think of many examples. Here's a few films/TV shows that have used comedic references to eating disorders, In & Out, Zoolander, Cinderella Story, Desperate Housewives, even Jay Leno has used bulimia as a punch line in his monologues. Scroll down this page and you can read my article, Eating Disorder Sitcom??&^%$!, in which I complain about how poorly eating disorders are treated by Hollywood. This illustrates a sad point about our perceptions. It's okay for thin beautiful women, or men to make light of eating disorders, but if a fat woman does it, it's outrageous. I'm not exonerating Kirstie. I've seen Fat Actress and it's truly appalling. However, I do believe she is experiencing an unbelievable form of discrimination. It's always comforting to see a prejudice defeated by a deeper prejudice. I stole that line from John Sayles (Lonestar). It's so appropriate. Eating Disorders are the most discriminated of all diseases/addictions. Yet, only when faced with a worse offense--obesity, is it okay to stick up for themselves. There is some good that will come out of this and that is finally acknowledging that it's NOT okay to make light of eating disorders. Although I admit I'm a cynic, when the smoke clears, so will the noise. Make light of it all you want Kirstie, "fat actress" will never be accepted. Sadly, she doesn't acccept herself. She sees herself as grotesque and the show exploits our worst fears of obesity. Why not instead, do a show in which the star is fat yet happy and successful? That's something worth promoting. That's the only way we will begin to break down judgment. Although, I have to say, in a strange way, I feel sorry for Kirstie because she's an unwitting scapegoat in this case. Her inexcusable take on being overweight aside, she's doing something that everyone else has done for years by making joke references to eating disorders. Yet. she doesn't fit into the Hollywood club--quite literally. Thus, she's punished for it. It's the same concept behind Julia Phillips autobiography, You'll Never Eat Lunch in This Town Again, in which she is, in essence, kicked out of Hollywood for her cocaine addiction despite the fact that Hollywood not only gave it to her, but encouraged it and was her brother-in-drug-arms. But once she had crossed that line, went to far, ate too much, whatever, she was out. My apologies to any of my colleagues in the eating disorder community who have been speaking out in outrage about the comedic references to eating disorders prior to Fat Actress. Those of you who haven't, well, that's just a fat hypocrisy. February 28, 2005 Toymaker Mattel has taken a very adventurous step in an effort to attract and influence young girls around the country. Mattel created the “infamous” Barbie doll, which has been a longstanding playtime toy and quasi-role model for American girls. The inherent beauty of Barbie is that she is make-believe; assumedly most girls eventually figure this out. But that beauty is about to be destroyed as Mattel recently announced that it will be introducing a Lindsay Lohan Barbie to appeal to the eight and under in-crowd. Lohan, a teen socialite and the undeniable reason for the success of “Mean Girls,” will now add permanent plastic pop icon to her less than stellar resume. From a profit perspective you can hardly blame Mattel for cashing in on the recent success of the celeb-reality phenomenon. Not a day goes by where I don’t encounter a doctored image of Lindsay Lohan and her very distinctive chest. Celebrities have become inextricably intertwined with our lives. While you may not like it, you cannot deny its existence. My question for Mattel is: Why Lindsay Lohan? Well, I know the obvious answer, but shouldn’t they be required to defend a doll that is likely to have a significant impact on young females? I’m not saying that Lohan has no admirable qualities. Her portrayal of a confused high school hottie in “Mean Girls” arguably had a positive impact on many girls in the same position. Plus, she can sing. Kind of. Well, lip-sync while dancing seductively anyway. Good enough. But couldn’t they have done better? Corporate responsibility has always been a sore spot for profit-driven companies like Mattel. On one hand, they have a legal fiduciary obligation to their shareholders to maximize profit. On the other hand, they have a responsibility as socially conscious members of society, in a unique position, to help shape and dignify the self-images of young girls who buy their product. This is not a matter to be taken lightly, or at least it shouldn’t be. Here’s an idea for Mattel: Base your real life Barbie on an intelligent, well-spoken female whose body image isn’t completely unattainable. The original Barbie, whose body and proportions were also unrealistic, is a fictitious character with no real life equivalent. The new Lohan Barbie dangerously mixes reality with fiction to create a confusing image in the heads of young girls. Given the power and influence Mattel has earned over the past half century, and conceding that they must combine fantasy with reality, why not create something with a bit more social value? There are a number of talented, intelligent, and yes, beautiful, women who would do a much better job providing guidance to youngsters. What about a Tina Fay Barbie doll? The sophisticatedly sexy comedienne has spent numerous years writing and acting for “Saturday Night Live.” Her witty sense of humor and creativity are attributes that all girls should strive for. Or what about a Barbie inspired by Janine Garofalo, an actress and comedienne who has made serious waves in the sea of politics and used her influence to promote worthy causes around the world. Her sidekick, Al Franken, could even accompany her and they could go around saving the environment in their hybrid Toyota Prius. All joking aside, the fact is that there are plenty of accomplished and intelligent women who could help girls establish a positive and realistic self-image and Mattel has a responsibility to work toward that goal. Lindsay Lohan may be hot in that barely legal, your perverted, mullet-wearing, beer-guzzling uncle thinks she looks hot in a Catholic schoolgirl uniform sort of way, but I don’t think that merits her being promoted to the position of a permanent plastic deity. February 20, 2005 LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) FX, which has established a reputation as a home for risky dramas, is looking to extend its identity into comedy. The network has picked up two comedy series for seven-episode runs this summer, and edginess doesn't sound like it will be a problem. One of the shows, "Starved," is about four people with eating disorders. Created by and starring Eric Schaeffer ("If Lucy Fell," "Too Something"), "Starved" is, according to the network, "a comedic take on food addiction, which is used as the backdrop to the funny, romantic and personal misadventures of the four characters." (from Zap2it TV News) Okay, do I need to say what the gripe
is here??? Welcome to the Weekly Gripe Gripe, gripe, gripe! Wait there's more! Yet another TV show, The Family Guy, took eating disorders name in vain. In a recent episode one of the characters suggested that their daughter should lose weight by "doing what the supermodels do and stick their fingers down their throat." I've had it with that crap. Bitter you say? No. That's not what this is about. To gripe is to be alive because you're passionate about something. It's to defy the system. It's to use our voice. Yes, we can abuse this process but that's not the intention of this column. The term "gripe" is somewhat satiric. We're not complainers. We're challengers. We're changers. We're thinkers. Okay we're instigators. The Weekly Gripe encourages everyone to speak out and examine things. Don't fall asleep in your world. There's too much going on that needs reaction. Gripe is good. Welcome to Payson Road.
PLEASE BE ADVISED. All Articles/Content on the Gripe are property of the author and/or Payson Road and subject to US Federal Copyright Laws and International Copyright agreements. You must seek Permission to Reprint from the author for use of any articles/content.
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